Two Civil War sailors to be buried at Arlington

FILE - This Tuesday March, 6, 2012 file photo shows the phases of facial reconstruction of two sailors of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor are seen in the auditorium of the US Navy Memorial in Washington. A century and a half after the USS Monitor sank, the interment of remains of two unknown sailors found in the Civil War ironclad’s turret is bringing together nearly 100 people from Maine to California who have a distant familial tie to the 16 Union sailors who died when the ship went down. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

By The Associated Press

Published: Friday, March 8, 2013 at 08:48 AM.

ARLINGTON, Va. — A century and a half after the Civil War ship the USS Monitor sank, two unknown crewmen found in the ironclad's turret will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Friday's ceremony will include Monitor kin who believe the two Union sailors are their ancestors. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is scheduled to speak.

Sixteen sailors died when the Monitor went down in rough seas off North Carolina in 1862. The two crew members' skeletons and the remains of their uniforms were found in 2002 when the ship's rusted turret was raised from the ocean floor.

The Monitor made nautical history when it fought in the first battle between two ironclads on March 9, 1862. The battle with the CSS Virginia was a draw.

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ARLINGTON, Va. — A century and a half after the Civil War ship the USS Monitor sank, two unknown crewmen found in the ironclad's turret will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Friday's ceremony will include Monitor kin who believe the two Union sailors are their ancestors. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is scheduled to speak.

Sixteen sailors died when the Monitor went down in rough seas off North Carolina in 1862. The two crew members' skeletons and the remains of their uniforms were found in 2002 when the ship's rusted turret was raised from the ocean floor.

The Monitor made nautical history when it fought in the first battle between two ironclads on March 9, 1862. The battle with the CSS Virginia was a draw.